Friendship
by Nairraa
Summary: Malory Towers by Enid Blyton. Femmeslash BillClarissa, BillDarrel implied


Disclaimer: All of the wonderful characters and settings belong to the estate of the late Enid Blyton, who caused much joy with her many brilliant works of fiction. The only character of my own is Alice, who is purely from my own imagination.  
  
WARNING contains femmeslash Bill/Clarissa and implied Bill/Darrel, If femmeslash is not your thing then this story may offend you.  
  
It was the beginning of a summer term at Malory Towers. The sun shone brightly on the steps leading up to the magnificent building. The thunderous arrival of Bill and her brothers echoed around the courtyard, girls darting out of the way of the trampling feet of the myriad of horses that had suddenly appeared on the drive.  
Bill ran her hands through her closely cropped brown hair and flashed her boyish grin at Clarissa who was standing shyly on the edge of the crowd waiting to welcome Bill back to school. Clarissa smiled back feeling pleased that Bill had taken the time to acknowledge her first out of all the others although she just knew that she could never compete with Darrel. Clarissa glanced over to where Darrel was giving her friend a warm welcoming hug. A tingle of jealousy ran through her and she wished it could be her in Bill's arms.  
That evening the girls of North Tower were enjoying a noisy late supper and teasing Gwen mercilessly about her apparently amazing new hairstyle that her American cousin had done for her over the hols. Clarissa looked around the table counting to see who was back as there was an empty chair. No, it seemed as though everyone had arrived there must have been some mistake. About half way through the meal the girls were disturbed from their chatter by the arrival of Miss Potts who was dragging along a short girl behind her. She was introduced as Alice; she had short black curly hair and laughing blue eyes. Her mouth turned up slightly at the corners as if there was always something funny going on to laugh at, her mouth opened further in a cheeky grin as she greeted her fellow sixth formers cheerily. Very soon the table were back to their usual happy chatter.  
Later in the common room Clarissa was sat doing her jigsaw. She kept glancing up at the clock anxiously. It would soon be time for bed and she hadn't had any time lone yet with Bill. They usually spent the evening in the stables together. Talking about and grooming their horses Thunder and Merrylegs. Clarissa sat fiddling half heartedly with the jigsaw in front of her. She knew it was useless because she wasn't concentrating. Her mind kept drifting to Bill and how much she was missing her special friend.  
The door to the common room swung open suddenly and startled Clarissa from her reverie. Bill strode into the common room followed by the giggling Alice. One or two of the girls looked up from the work they were doing, obviously annoyed at the intrusion of their peaceful haven. But there annoyance didn't last long as Alice's giggle was infectious. Soon they were all laughing away together and dancing merrily to some music someone had put on the gramophone. Clarissa crept out quietly, thinking no one would notice she had left and made her way down to the stables, where she made a nest in the hay and curled up to cry to herself. It seemed they had only been back a few minutes but Bill had forgotten her already.  
Bill had noticed Clarissa leave the common room and noticed she looked upset. After a few minutes, she got up and followed her friend from the room. She knew just where to find her.  
Bill opened the stable door quietly hoping that the slight creaking noise wouldn't give away her presence. She crept through the stable peeing into the stalls looking for her friend. By the time she got to the stall in the far corner she could hear a muffled sobbing, she had found Clarissa. "Clara dear? It's me, Bill. Are you in there? What are you crying for you silly goose?"  
All she got in reply was some more muffled sobbing. She pushed open the door gently and went to sit in the hay by Clarissa. "What's wrong darling Clara? Talk to me please." She implored the girl. Clarissa just shook her head fiercely in the hay. Bill sighed deeply and tentatively reached out a hand to stroke the soft, lightly freckled skin on the arm of her friend, peering out from under the short sleeve of her blouse. Clarissa snuggled closer to Bill and pulled her down into the hay for a hug. They lay together in silence for a few minutes, resting their bodies against one another. Both thinking how nice it was to be laying there close to their special friend.  
Clarissa tentatively reached up a hand to stroke Bill's face gently in an intimate gesture. Bill responded by pulling Clarissa closer to her until she was almost lying on top of the smaller girl. Clarissa's thin frame felt fragile beneath her and not wanting to hurt the girl she loved she moved onto her side. Clarissa was looking down towards the floor; she didn't want Bill to know how she was feeling or to read the emotions in her face. She also didn't want to look up as she was scared of how Bill would react. She knew she shouldn't feel like this, she knew if anyone ever found out they would find her unnatural and strange.  
Bill tried to speak but found it impossible to get out the words she longed to say to her friend. She knew it was now or never. She had to confess how she felt. In a hoarse whisper she began. "Clara, my dear Clarissa. I need to tell you something.." Clarissa gazed up at Bill in wonderment at her tone. This was so unlike Bill who was usually so gruff. She looked questioningly into Bill's eyes. She obviously recognised something that she saw there as the next thing she knew was being drawn towards Bill's soft sweet lips. She brushed her own lips against them lightly and drew quickly away, terrified of what she had started, scared that she could lose her one true friend. Bill felt shock and delight as Clarissa's lips had touched hers and was soon leaning into Clarissa to pull her into a deeper, longer kiss. The two girls kissed each other rather timidly for a few moments until they both pulled away. Clarissa glanced nervously at the door as if someone was going to come in. Bill reached out to her with a reassuring touch and pulled her back towards her. Clarissa glanced shyly up at her and smiled. They both knew that there was no going back.  
The two girls spent the rest of the evening in the stables together in a comfortable silence, occasionally exchanging kisses and gentle caresses. As they walked back to the building hand in hand Clarissa knew she need no longer be jealous as her and Bill would remain together as they had always been, just a little bit closer than before. 


End file.
